2013 Almanzo 100 UPDATE

My first post was deleted when I tried adding in pictures to make the blog less lame than normal. I was going to just let it slide, but I decided that this is more than worthy to take the time to write again and remember the day that was.

I was pretty excited about this years event. I did a gravel race in March, didn't get into the Ragnarok for the first time, and then rode the Dickie Scramble. Combine that with not a lot of training rides and I was more excited than usual.

The week prior to the race I headed over to Calhoun Cycle to pick up my packet early. There was quite a few people there picking up their packets and there was a BBQ to boot. I was about to go for a run otherwise I would have hung out for a while and ate some food.

The week of went quickly. I rode my bike to work a couple times and that was about it. I am starting to understand the importance of rest and cross training. I am feeling better and more refreshed when riding. Part of me enjoys this, part of me doesn't.

The night before the race I got everything ready. Switched the bike over to 42x18 gearing, repacked the frame bag, charged the Garmin, and got all my clothes packed up. I even found some time to throw some beer in a cooler.

The 5:30am alarm came quickly and I was on the road to pick up Jose at 5:45. We made it to Spring Valley around 8:05 and found a great parking spot near the finish. The last thing I wanted to do when I was finished was ride a mile back to my car.

I started getting ready and talking to a few people around me. At about 8:45 I headed to the starting area where Chris was already on the microphone. I started moving through the people and working my way towards the front. About 1/3 of the way up I stopped. I remembered Tom Gehering's story about starting dead last at the Cheq 40 and how cool it was to pass a bunch of people throughout the race. 

We sang the traditional happy birthday to Chris' son Jack and we were soon on our way. 

Everyone started out slow going through town and once we hit gravel and I looked up ahead I knew that the race was on and that I better start moving. My goal at that point was to be out of a bigger size pack by the time we hit the first down hill. I was moving up and passing a lot of people. I kept looking for people that I knew and making sure to say hi as I rode on by. When we hit Nature road hill I knew it was time to burn a match and hustle up the hill. I wanted to continue to spread things out and it get a good burn in my legs. The next 30 or so miles went by nicely and I was at the edge of Preston in just over 2 hours. 

I kept wondering where this water crossing was and I was going to find out soon. 2 miles down the road and my mouth full of honey stinger waffle I saw road closed signs and knew the crossing was near. I heard a lot of people talking about just walking through with there shoes on. Not this guy. I don't want to pedal with wet feet, nor risk getting blisters with 60 miles to go. I saw a Man vs. Wild episode one time and Bear said that having wet feet is the worst thing that can happen. So I took, I don't know, 15 seconds? to take off my soccks and shoes and forded across. As soon as I got to the other side I stood on some rocks off to the side so that I wouldn't get mud on my feet and put my shoes and socks back on. It took MAYBE 1:30 total. I hopped back on my bike and kept on keeping on.

I felt good and rolled into the Forrestville checkpoint in just over 4 hours. I got refilled some water and hit the road. I knew that it would be pavement for a bit some I just pedaled slow to relax a bit and eat some food. Once we hit the bigger hills I was feeling a little spent and starting to enter the mental pain cave. I made it through that section and told myself that I would take a brief break at the Cherry Grove city hall. When I got there I was surprised to see the Twin Six tent providing beers and booze. It was about the last thing my body wanted, but my brain was telling me yes. The New Belgium selection was nice, but not at that moment in time. I sat in a chair for about 5 minutes and then decided to get my ass up and continue on. I still wasn't feeling great but pressed on because what else am I going to do? Right before the second crossing I ran into Chris standing in the road. He told me that he was closing the second water crossing because it was becoming too dangerous. I must have been one of the first people he told because I could see people headed down the road towards the stream as he was telling me all this.

I don't know what happened in that minute break, but I all of a sudden felt re-energized. My pace picked up about 3 mph and I was feeling good. I was going up the rollers strong and managing to pass a few people. I knew that Oriole hill was coming up soon and was mentally prepared for it. On the SS at that point there is no sense burning yourself out. I pedaled until it became too much of a grind and then got off and started walking and drinking a Red Bull I had stashed in my back pocket. At the top I  knew that there was still 10 miles to go and that it wasn't going to be easy. I was soon climbing the last major climb of the day. I have never walked this hill, and I wasn't going to start. I was moving well and passed a couple of people walking. As I neared the top my muscles were starting to scream and I was facing the steepest part. I looked up and say Scott and his wife standing there and knew that there was no option to walk (peer pressure is a MFer) I just put my head down and beared with the pain until I reached the top.

Once at the top it was just a race to be done and relaxing. I passed a few more people and was on the pavement before I knew it. I kept looking for the tape for the tape to enter the water plant and get to the finish line. It couldn't come soon enough. The section was a lot longer than I thought it was going to be but once I saw the finish I was relieved. 

7 hours, 10 minutes.

I was shooting for under 7, so that will have to wait another year. I am happy with the way I rode and had a great time as usual. I laid on the sidewalk for about 20 minutes after the finish to catch my breath and re-hydrate. It is amazing how much more tired you can feel once you get off the bike.

My hat goes off to Chris and all of the volunteers. There are many other events around the country that have many more resources than they do, and yet they pull everything off in a way that makes it look effortless. It is amazing what someone can accomplish when they put everything they have into it. There is no doubt that is how the Almanzo has been  run since day one and it is why it is the best race in the country. 

2013 Almanzo 100

UPDATED VERSION HERE: The whole Almanzo 100 story

Well Fuck. 

I had an entire post written and then I wanted to add in the pictures and it erased everything. What a joke.

So to summarize, I had an awesome time and couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday.

Final time 7 hours 11 minutes

Thanks to Chris and all the volunteers for the hard work and dedication they have to putting this event on year after year. It is truly remarkable and I deeply appreciate it. Thanks again.

Dickie Scramble 2013

This wasn't the first Dickie Scramble, but it was the first one I believe that was a long gravel event.

The weather leading up to this event was not very good. There was 14 inches of snow in the area 5 days prior. Despite all that, the roads were in very good shape for the most part. We had to skip about a 8 mile stretch since the stream we would have to cross was too deep. This out us on a lot more pavement than I was expecting. I'd say we ended up with a 50/50 split. Not a bad thing though, it's nice to not have to work so hard all the time.

The race started a little slow and I was able to hang on to the lead group much longer than I normally do. Once things got going though I was unable to hang on in the flats. As much as I enjoy riding the SS, if I ever want to really start moving up in these races I'm going to have to get some gears, because I'm not going to be near strong enough to push the required gear to stay up towards the front for a long time (ever).

I settled into a good pace and before I knew it I couldn't see anyone in front or back of me. So I just turned on the ipod and cruised along. I missed a couple turns briefly because I was just enjoying the day and not looking at the GPS, but got back on track after 50ft or so. I was a little bummed that we didn't get to cross the stream and that put us on more pavement, but it is what it is. At one turn I wasn't sure about I slowed down and a group of 5 or 6 caught up and verified that I was going the right way. I rode with them for a bit and then lost them on the climb and downhill right before crossing the bridge near Hwy 61.

I rode by myself through the closed road and stopped briefly to take the sleeves off of my jacket. I could feel the sweat just sitting dormant and knew it was time to shed a layer. As I was heading towards the MMR 2 guys caught up to me and I hung on to their back wheel. Once we got to the MMR we broke up. This just kept getting slightly worse, the more we went up. At first it was loose gravel, then wet gravel, then snow covered gravel... I am sure that it is not a very difficult climb on a summer day, but it was a challenge to not have to walk.

Once at the top I knew that the checkpoint was not far ahead and that I would have to decide which route I was going to take. Ultimately I decided on the short course because my calves were killing me and I wanted to watch the Wild game at 2, also, I didn't want to get home at 7-8 at night on a Sunday. (Side: my legs were feeling so crappy because I ran 7 miles the day before, not a good idea)

I hung out at the checkpoint a little too long considering it was a race and all I did was fill my bottle and eat a banana. I think I was there for 30 minutes at least. It should have been more like 5 minutes. It cost me a few places, but I don't really care since I wasn't in the long race.

Once I finally got rolling again things went pretty smooth. There were some long tough climbs that I had been waiting for all day. They are my one chance to put some distance between myself and other racers. I got within about 50 yards of passing 2 guys after the second climb, but in the flats they rode off and I never saw them again.

With the snow on the ground, the sun out, and the race almost over, I started looking around the bluffs and taking it all in. It was beautiful. I wish I had stopped to take a picture. Everything look perfect, and I am not someone who usually notices the landscape that is around me during a race.

When I arrived back at the Huddle I went inside and wrote my time down, then I went out to the car and changed and looked at my phone and realized that I must have written down the "bar time." So once I got changed I corrected it and shaved 20 minutes off my time!

I sat down and ordered a beer and burger. There is a big difference between small town bars and the city bars when it comes to beer selection... That's alright though, the burger was awesome and the beer was cold. They also had the Wild game queued up and ready to go. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

A big thanks to Drew and all of the volunteers for putting this on. I will be back again.

Ironman 2013

I had never given this ride much thought. It seemed like a waste to me. Why spend $50 to ride around on free, open roads and not even be racing?

With the long winter I needed some motivation to get out and force some miles. I haven't been feeling that great lately on the bike and I knew it was because my miles were low. I decided to enter since the ride was fully supported and that meant that I didn't have to carry a bunch of stuff with me.

I started out at Tom's house at 6:15 in the morning and we began our 12 mile ride over to the fairgrounds. We were all starting to think that it was a little far of a ride until we saw all the cars backed up. I couldn't believe how many people were there so early.

We got registered fairly quickly and met up with some MORC people. We rolled out at 7:35 on the Scandia loop and stayed together for the first 20 miles or so. At the first stop when everyone decided they were going to get food, go to the bathroom etc, I decided that I wasn't going to do that all day and took off. I rode by myself and stayed out of all the pace lines. It was interesting to watch the pace lines go past me, and then I would beat them up the climbs. If the grade changed up ever so slightly you could hear all the gears start shifting down.

I stopped before the Afton loop and filled up with water and drank about 1/4 cup of coffee. I figured that I would take my break at the Afton support tent since there would be a lot less people there.

The headwind going out to Afton was absurd. I've ridden in stronger winds out there, but for not as long. It was a fight to stay around 13-14 miles per hour. There were a lot less people on this loop, which was nice.

The second half of the loop had a lot less wind, but the hills picked up. I didn't mind that at all.

I got back to the fairgrounds for a brief second and then got on the Gateway loop and once again there was a bunch of wind. At this point I had had enough. It wasn't fun anymore and I just wanted to get off my bike. I jumped off the gateway in Mahtomedi and headed back to Tom's house. I stopped at the gas station and got a pack of skittles and some beef jerky to reward myself for a good ride.

Back at Tom's I relaxed on the porch and waited for everyone else to get back. There was a nice breeze and it was very relaxing. We ate some brats, drank some beers, and shared our stories.

While it was fun to always have someone in front to chase down, and it was a great training ride, I don't think that I will be back next year. I'll save my money for something else and do my own route.

Going to hang this on my office wall. haha